Voices of Search Podcast: Episode Summary
Episode Title: Importance In Taxonomy For Large Websites
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Host: Tyson Stockton
Guest: Alex Silverberg, President and SEO Strategist at AP SEO
1. Introduction
In this episode of Voices of Search, host Tyson Stockton engages in an insightful discussion with Alex Silverberg, President and SEO Strategist at AP SEO. Building upon their previous conversation about optimizing for Search Generative Experience (SGE), they delve into the critical role of taxonomy in managing large websites.
2. Understanding Taxonomy in SEO
Tyson Stockton introduces the topic by highlighting taxonomy as a fundamental aspect of site architecture:
“Taxonomy is just another word for site architecture. It's how you organize your site. [...] it is something that's super important for SEO, but honestly, it affects all parts of your business, especially if you're a large website.”
— Alex Silverberg [03:33]
Alex Silverberg elaborates that taxonomy is essential not only for SEO but also for overall marketing and user experience. Proper organization ensures that both users and search engines can navigate and understand the site's content effectively.
3. Good vs. Bad Taxonomy
The conversation shifts to distinguishing between effective and ineffective taxonomy:
Alex Silverberg explains the consequences of poor taxonomy:
“Without proper taxonomy, users are going to have a very frustrating time navigating your site and it's possible that they're going to miss your most important pages. [...] It's going to not be a good thing.”
— Alex Silverberg [04:48]
In contrast, good taxonomy facilitates:
- User Navigation: Users can effortlessly find what they're looking for, enhancing their experience and increasing conversion rates.
- Search Engine Understanding: Search engines can comprehend the relationships between pages, improving indexing and ranking.
4. Taxonomy and Topical Authority
Tyson Stockton connects taxonomy to the concept of topical authority, emphasizing its significance in large websites:
“You're able to link out and to push that value of your expertise to other pages that are related to that. [...] You're building off of that.”
— Alex Silverberg [05:39]
Alex Silverberg provides an example using an e-commerce apparel website to illustrate how hierarchical taxonomy can establish and reinforce topical authority. By organizing content into related categories and subcategories, the site demonstrates expertise across various apparel segments, enhancing its authority in the eyes of both users and search engines.
5. Implementing Taxonomy: URL Structure and Breadcrumbs
The discussion delves into practical implementation strategies:
URL Structure:
Alex Silverberg underscores the importance of a logical URL structure:
“The men's jeans page, the slug would look something like /apparel/mens-clothing/jeans. So what this is going to do for you is it's going to help the search engines discover and relate all the paths of this folder.”
— Alex Silverberg [07:42]
A well-organized URL hierarchy aids search engines in understanding the site's structure and the relationships between different sections.
Breadcrumbs:
Breadcrumbs serve as an additional signal for both users and search engines:
“So you kind of have two signals to the machine, like, hey, all these pages are related and all these pages are good and they all have topical authority.”
— Alex Silverberg [07:37]
Implementing breadcrumbs enhances navigation, allowing users to easily traverse the site while reinforcing the site's taxonomy for search engines.
6. Navigation and Internal Linking
Tyson Stockton and Alex Silverberg discuss the balance between comprehensive navigation and user experience:
Avoiding Navigation Overload:
“One of the main issues I've seen with a lot of sites is they want to overstuff the navigation. [...] trying to make it as comprehensive as possible. But if you do that, you're really providing a bad site experience.”
— Alex Silverberg [10:20]
Instead of cluttering the navigation menu with every category, focus on prioritizing the most important sections. Utilize internal linking strategies to incorporate less prominent pages elsewhere on the site.
Internal Linking Strategies:
Alex suggests leveraging various site elements to reinforce taxonomy:
“Think about the low performing categories that still generate some revenue but are not as important as your bigger pages, right? [...] just writing a description there and linking to the appropriate categories within that.”
— Alex Silverberg [10:20]
By integrating links within content, carousels, and image slides, SEOs can maintain a clean navigation menu while ensuring comprehensive site coverage and SEO benefits.
7. Scaling SEO with Proper Taxonomy
Tyson Stockton emphasizes the scalability benefits of a well-structured taxonomy:
“With a proper taxonomy and structure to the site, then you're really able to scale, whether it's internal linking or a lot of other practices.”
— Tyson Stockton [12:13]
Alex Silverberg concurs, positioning taxonomy alongside user experience, design, and speed as top priorities for website development:
“Your taxonomy should be one of your top three considerations when building your website outside of user experience.”
— Alex Silverberg [13:10]
A solid taxonomy foundation allows SEO strategies to be efficiently scaled, particularly important for large websites with extensive content.
8. Addressing Poor Taxonomy
When dealing with existing poor taxonomy, Alex Silverberg advises leveraging sitemaps:
XML Sitemaps:
“Submit XML sitemaps of all of your pages, products, whatever it is, by different categories, create these individual sitemaps.”
— Alex Silverberg [14:00]
XML sitemaps help monitor how search engines index site content and identify areas needing improvement.
HTML Sitemaps:
“Utilizing HTML sitemaps to link to pages not found on default landing pages or navigation is a great tip.”
— Alex Silverberg [14:30]
HTML sitemaps serve as an additional layer of internal linking, ensuring that even less prominent pages are discoverable by both users and search engines.
9. Conclusion and Final Takeaways
Alex Silverberg wraps up with actionable advice for SEOs facing taxonomy challenges:
“A de facto HTML sitemap which can look from everything from like a hub and spoke page to a blog post or new landing pages. [...] really, it's up to you how you want this to look.”
— Alex Silverberg [15:10]
Key Takeaways:
- Prioritize Taxonomy: As a cornerstone of site architecture, taxonomy should be a primary focus during website development and maintenance.
- Logical URL Structures: Organize URLs hierarchically to reflect the site's taxonomy, aiding both user navigation and search engine understanding.
- Effective Breadcrumbs: Implement breadcrumbs to reinforce site structure and improve user experience.
- Balanced Navigation: Avoid cluttering navigation menus; use internal linking to cover less prominent pages.
- Utilize Sitemaps: Leverage XML and HTML sitemaps to monitor and enhance site taxonomy, especially during migrations or restructurings.
- Scalability: A robust taxonomy facilitates scalable SEO practices, essential for large websites.
Tyson concludes by expressing gratitude to Alex for his valuable insights, encouraging listeners to connect with him through provided channels.
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